Films opening Friday, Aug. 24, 2018

A.X.L.: A young man bonds with an AWOL robotic dog created by the government, whose code name stands for attack, exploration and logistics in the film starring Alex Neustaedter, Thomas Jane and Becky G. Rated PG.

The Happytime Murders: Two detectives — one puppet, one human –investigate the murders of the cast of a once-popular TV puppet show in the film starring Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale and Elizabeth Banks. Rated R.

Juliet, Naked: Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd star in the movie about an American singer-songwriter who enters the lives of an English couple based on the book by Nick Hornby. Rated R. At the Kabuki. Ma

Madeline’s Madeline: The wild experimental film by Josephine Decker stars Helena Howard as teen acting student who finds herself living the part she thought she was playing. Rated R. At the Roxie.

Memoir of War: Melanie Thierry stars as French writer Marguerite Duras in 1944 when her husband and fellow Resistance fighter Robert Antelme is deported to Dachau by the Gestapo in the film based on Duras’ semi-autobiographical novel. Not rated. At the Vogue.

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl: Masaaki Yuasa’s “romantic and hallucinogetic” animated tale is about teens experiencing an unusual night out in Kyoto. Rated PG-13. At the Roxie.

Papillon: A safecracker framed for murder and an eccentric counterfeiter plot to escape the infamous French penal colony Devil’s Island in the film starring Charlie Hunnam and Rami Male inspired by the screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and books by Henri Charriere. Rated R.

Searching: John Cho plays a father who searches his missing teenage daughter’s laptop for digital clues to her disappearance in the movie co-written and directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Rated PG-13.

Support the Girls: The ensemble comedy starring Regina Hall is about the manager at a “sports bar with curves” whose optimism is tested over the course of a long, strange day. Rated R. At the Opera Plaza.

We the Animals: Three young brothers tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents in a portrait of blue-collar family life, a Sundance favorite directed by Jeremiah Zagar. Rated R. At the Embarcadero.